Path through the Well
by Stelaris
Summary: Originally "Soujiro of the Sengoku Jidai" A Ruroken IY crossover fic. The well doesn't just exist in the present and Sengoku Jidai: a certain Meiji swordsman happens across it as well. bad summary, I know... "T" to be safe.


_In the land of Musashi is an ancient wooden well, the Bone Eater's Well. It is a well known fact that if you throw the corpse of a demon down the well, it will simply vanish. The well has survived through the centuries, and is still there in modern times. But what if it existed through the past too? Hidden away somewhere, waiting to be discovered? And what if a certain Meiji era human fell through the well? What if said human happened to meet a certain powerful inuyoukai? What if…? Read on, and find out for yourself…_

**Chapter 1**

Soujiro wasnot a happy swordsman. Not only was he surrounded by bandits and thugs and didn't have a sword to beat them with, he was trapped with his back against an old wooden well, and had almost fallen in five times during the past five minutes of trying to dodge the clumsy attacks of said bandits. This was **not** his idea of a nice day.

"Just hold still, kid," one bandit called to him. Soujiro replied, "I already told you, I don't have any money! Leave me alone, I wasn't bothering you!" Several bandits started guffawing loudly and obnoxiously. "Ain't got nuthin', eh, kid? Then we'll take your life! Get 'im!" The bandits charged at Soujiro, who leapt away, trying to dodge. _Apparently glaring with this blasted smile frozen on my face isn't very effective, _Soujiro thought distractedly, attempting to find a way out.

Too late. One particularly agile bandit noticed him just before he escaped, and quickly swung his club at Soujiro, the sturdy wooden weapon colliding with Soujiro's side and sending him tumbling backwards, straight into the ancient wooden well. The other bandits ran to the edge of the well, trying to see where the small person had fallen, but it was no use. Soujiro vanished without a trace.

When Soujiro awoke, he was not in the Meiji era anymore. He sat up, looking around, and wondering why he was alive, or even conscious, after that fall. "Where am I…?" he muttered, thoroughly puzzled (still smiling, though). After a bit of remembering what had happened, he stood up and used the ivy along the wall of the well to climb up and out.

Soujiro stared in wonder at the "sudden" change in the world around him. Instead of muddy, sparsely forested woodland, he was in what seemed to be a thick, beautiful forest. "I must have hit my head harder than I'd thought…" he said, shaking his head in confusion. Either he was dreaming, or he wasn't where he had been five minutes ago (or a century or two later, if you want to get technical about it). Thoroughly confused, the poor, perpetually-smiling swordsman sat at the base of a tree to try and sort out what had happened. At that point, chaos broke loose.

A dozen or more bandits ran through, one carrying a small, wildly squirming child, a girl dressed in an orange-and-white kimono, under his arm. One of the bandits noticed Soujiro staring at them, and shouted, "Get him! Leave no witnesses!"

After that, all was blood, dust, and confusion as Soujiro fought for his life against the bandits, using his speed and leg strength to take out half of them with lightning-fast kicks before he was overcome by their sheer numbers. The leader of the bandits directed his men onward, this time taking Soujiro with them.

By nightfall, the bandits had reached their hideout and were drunkenly singing and drinking stolen _sake_. The small child and Soujiro were bound in a back room. Well, Soujiro was bound; the child was too frightened to do anything but stare hopelessly at the wall, so the bandits didn't consider her much of a threat. After a few minutes of silence, Soujiro spoke up. "What is your name? I am Tenken no Soujiro. Just call me Soujiro, as my full title is too much of a mouthful." He smiled gently to show that he meant her no harm. Then again, he **was** tied up, so he couldn't really hurt her anyway.

The child started, then replied in a voice to match her size, "I'm Rin. Are you a youkai?" Soujiro laughed, saying, "No. What gave you that idea?" Rin sighed and scooted closer to the tied up swordsman. "You fought almost as well as a youkai back there. You're really brave, Soujiro-sama! How'd you get to fast? I could barely see you!" she inquired, looking up at him with a small smile on her face.

Soujiro smiled back at the little girl. "I worked hard to get that fast. It's not easy, Rin-chan. Oh, and please, just call me Soujiro. No titles or anything; I'm not exactly in a position to be referred to by a title. Why did you say I was a youkai, Rin? Youkai don't exist where I come from." Rin gaped at him, astonished. "No youkai? What a boring place that must be! My lord, Sesshoumaru-sama, is an incredibly strong inuyoukai! If he was here, these bandits would never have taken us…" she sighed quietly, tears starting to roll down her face. "Please come soon, Sesshoumaru-sama…"

Soujiro looked down at the sad little girl. "Your Sesshoumaru-sama may not be here, Rin-chan, but I am, if that's any comfort." Rin looked back up at him, smiling through her tears. "Arigatou, Soujiro-san. I feel better now. Hey, do you think I could try and untie you? I do know how to untie some knots, if I really try hard." Soujiro held out his bound wrists. "You'll never know unless you try, Rin-chan." As Rin worked carefully and slowly on the knot, Soujiro began to hum quietly, comforting both of them in the dark and lonely room.

Sesshoumaru raced silently through the trees, cursing Jaken and the bandits with every curse known to demonkind. Rin was taken while he was away, **again**, and now he was tracking down petty bandits to try and get her back. Secretly, he marveled at the change that he'd gone through since meeting the _ningen_ girl. Seven months ago, he would have just left her to her fate and gone on with his life. Now, he was planning a single-handed rescue mission to get her back. Fate works in strange ways.

In any case, it wouldn't be long now. He'd locked onto the bandit's scent, and they were close. Forcing a bit more speed out of his muscles, he shot through the forest, a white blur. "_I'm coming, Rin._"

Soujiro vigorously rubbed his wrists, trying to get circulation going again. "_Arigatou_, Rin-chan, you did a fine job!" Rin smiled up at him, still holding the rope that had bound Tenken no Soujiro's wrists. "I did? You're welcome, Soujiro-san!"

After a little more wrist-rubbing, Soujiro stood up and walked over to the door. "Let's leave. I don't want to be here any longer. It's creepy." Rin shivered and nodded. "Isn't the door locked? We won't be able to leave, Soujiro-san!" Soujiro tried the knob; Rin was right, the bandits had locked it. He was just about to try and break down the door when shouts and the sound of metal clashing came from outside. "Rin-chan, does this Sesshoumaru-sama wield a sword?" Rin nodded. Soujiro continued, "I think help has arrived!"

At that moment, the door burst open wide. Rin's exclamation of joy turned quickly to one of shock and fear as, instead of the inuyoukai she'd been expecting, a large burly bandit lumbered inside and punched Soujiro across the room. He hit the wall with a loud crack and tried unsuccessfully to struggle to his feet. The bandit guard drew his sword and advanced on the helpless Soujiro.

Rin couldn't bear to see another person die, especially not one who'd been so kind to her. She picked up a stone that was lying on the floor and hurled it at the guard with all her strength. It wasn't much, considering how physically weak she was, but it was enough. The rock bounced off the bandit's skull with a slightly hollow *thunk*, and drew the bandit's attention away from Soujiro. Unfortunately for Rin, the bandit's attention was now on her.

Sesshoumaru sliced through two bandits with a single slash. _Feh. I missed the third one._ Then, he sliced through the third bandit who'd narrowly escaped death on the previous slice, Tokijin singing in his grasp as blood splattered the ground. Normally, he'd use his claws on worthless enemies like these humans, but considering they'd taken Rin right out from under Jaken's incompetent nose, he supposed they did deserve death by sword instead of melting by poison. He promptly beheaded another human, then shattered the flimsy wooden door to the rundown old cottage the bandits (fools that they were) used as a hideout. Inside was a relatively large room, with another wooded door at the far end. Sesshoumaru paused only to kill the two bandits in the room, then turned to open the far door.

At that moment, a terrified scream shattered the relatively still air around him. It was a scream that he recognized, a young girl's scream.

"Rin!"

**A/N: **Yes, I am evil for leaving you hanging like this. And yes, this is a crossover fic in case you haven't noticed that already. It will be placed in the "Inuyasha" section because most of the story takes place in the Sengoku Jidai. Don't ask how Soujiro got through the well, that's part of the story that will come into play much, much later. Alright, then, on to the next chapter! (Types like a psycho while laughing manically).


End file.
